This application is submitted with a microfiche Appendix consisting of one (1) microfiche with twenty-eight (28) frames.
The invention described herein relates to the monitoring, maintenance, and repair of vascular x-ray imaging systems or any similar system in which a number of distinct equipment modules are interconnected to form a functioning system.
A typical vascular system consists of a patient table, an operator console, a control panel, and a high tension transformer. These components are costly to service. The increased costs are a direct result of the trend toward modular systems. A modular design allows the buyer to customize a system to meet his individual requirements, but at an increased cost since repair and maintenance is more complex and must also be tailored to the individual system. The cost factor alone makes vascular systems primary candidates for development of cost saving diagnostic techniques and systems.
Repair and maintenance requires that the field service engineer must have the technical manuals and repair procedures immediately available to him or her at the site to research any eventuality that may occur. Again, however, modularity becomes a factor. Since a variety of modules may be used in a typical vascular system, technical manuals and procedures for each module must be on-hand. This can represent a substantial amount of paper.
The present invention is an apparatus for communicating with a plurality of devices, in which a a plurality of programmable distributed test units (DTUs), each communicating with an associated one of the plurality of devices, communicate with one another by way of a network, preferably an optical network. A system monitor unit communicates with the plurality of programmable distributed test units by way of the network, programs each of the plurality of programmable distributed test units to function in a selected manner, and gathers information obtained by the plurality of programmable distributed test units, as programmed, from the plurality of devices.
Each of the plurality of distributed test units include a standardized controller unit which is programmed by the system monitor unit, and a sample control module which is controlled by the programmed controller unit, and which is adapted to communicate with a corresponding one of the plurality of devices.
Using the network of DTUs, connected to selected vascular devices, such as the dosimeter and control console, the DTUs gather and transfer data to the system monitor. The field service engineer connects a field service notebook (laptop computer) to the system monitor to access data gathered from the DTUs. Using the gathered data, accurate measures of system performance are developed which can easily be monitored and recreated, yielding xe2x80x9coptimumxe2x80x9d performance levels based on preset benchmarks. Through the electronic database storage capabilities of the system monitor, the field service engineer is provided with a support system and reference materials, including component lists, manuals, and current software releases, that allow for quicker, less cumbersome and more accurate repair of the vascular system.
The present invention can be used in connecting with an automated system which reduces the probability of errors occurring during manual data transfer, decreases hard copy support and technical data which the field service engineer has to carry to the site, and, allows the system monitor to perform the highly accurate performance data analysis required, thus reducing human error in diagnosis and repair.
Such a diagnostic system enhances the efficiency of troubleshooting and repair and leads to shorter down times, thereby reducing costs and improving customer satisfaction. The system is also non-invasive so that it can collect data from the test points while the vascular system is in use. This allows field service engineers to proactively detect and correct system performance deterioration before the system fails.
An offsite Technical Assistance Center (TAC) can be used to contact the system monitor remotely to access the DTU network to check system operations, and to update the information stored in the system monitor.
The present invention can be used to shorten evaluation time through automation when used with a diagnostic system which employs an expert system which comprises software in the system monitor processor that analyzes data gathered and stored from the DTUs. The expert system can refer more quickly to similar problem situations in the past and recall resolutions. The expert system is therefore able to provide the field service engineer with suggestions on how and where to work on the system. The expert system also anticipates when an incorrect procedure is run, and directs the field service engineer to alternative correct solutions. As a result, time consuming guesswork, and trial and error, normally associated with the repair process are reduced, thereby allowing faster repair or adjustment of the vascular system.